How much need I do in terms of providing access before a smart meter can be fitted?

Just to mention…

Quarterly Billing is going away across the market I’m afraid. Suppliers that currently offer it now might not offer it in the future. Monthly Billing is basically the same as Quarterly Billing, it just runs the numbers and spits out the bill/statement 12 times a year rather than 4 which allows for better accuracy and faster detection of issues.

I’d recommend trying it for a while and seeing if you can get used to it. I doubt OVO will restore Quarterly Billing anytime soon.

You do, however, have the option of Pay On-Demand with OVO if that’s what you want (which is what I think you had with SSE). IIRC you can just cancel the Direct Debit and the system will do the rest. Worth noting that you will usually be kicked off any Fixed Rate Tariff and may be charged the Early Exit Fee if you do this.

But yeah, SERIOUSLY glad for ya that the main puzzle got solved. Shows you how good Luke and his colleagues are! :)

Worth pointing out that On-demand is quite a bit more expensive than constant Direct Debit. I haven’t done the sums recently, but it’s a significant sum each year. If you visit OVO’s Plans and prices page, you can use the filters to compare the tariffs available with both payment methods. (Note that the prices given there are ex VAT.)

Morning ​@old_rog, I hope you’re doing well, and I’m happy to hear the installation was successful, albeit with a slight delay. Thanks again ​@Lukepeniket_OVO as always for getting another installation over the line.

​@old_rog I completely understand where you’re coming from with regards to the different billing / payments setup with OVO as compared to SSE. To be up front and honest about it - OVO have no plans to introduce a Direct Debit system where the exact amount of your bill is taken each month. The only option would be to pay manually via your online account, or by phone each month. As ​@Firedog says, this is more expensive, and with a lot less contract options that you get when paying by Direct Debit.

Me personally - I much prefer paying by Direct Debit, as I build up a credit balance over the Spring and Summer, which I then fall back on Winter. This means I can put the heating on etc without worrying about paying out more in the colder months, as there’s credit there to cover the extra usage. I then take a refund out once a year at the end of March and then start again. However, the one-size-fits-all Direct Debit setup of course won’t actually suit everyone and, if you’re wanting to switch to have a different payment method then we’d recommend doing so. We’d always promote switching if it means you’ll be better off, be it financially, or because you’ll have a feature we don’t offer.

I hope that helps and, if you do switch away, you’re still welcome to remain on the Forum of course!

Thanks for all the info, folks - there’s a lot out there!  Mothly payment is no problem, I guess what I really wanted was direct debit for the amount used.  Ah well  - I geuss I’ll stick with what I’ve got at the moment  Thanks again. 

No worries - that sounds like Variable Direct Debit which was Direct Debit matched to the exact bill. SSE never offered this IIRC and OVO retired it several years ago. If memory serves, SSE used to bill quarterly, but would still take DD payments monthly. Most suppliers are moving (slowly) towards Monthly Billing and Monthly Payments - it’s better for cashflow and accuracy.

Either way, you’ll ultimately only ever pay for what you actually use anyway - Fixed Direct Debit causes any spare credit to be carried over to the next bill automatically.